Chapter 12 #2
“Okay,” Chloe said, clearly wanting to give Esme control over something, even if it was small. “I need to talk to you about a development in your case, and I want to be straight with you. It’s pretty serious.”
“Like, how serious?” Esme asked warily.
Chloe paused for a deep breath, but kept a firm hold on Esme’s eye contact. “A couple of days ago, the police got the forensic results from the crime scene investigation at the warehouse. DNA matching the man you identified was found at the scene.”
Esme’s eyes widened. “So, wait. You got him? Like, he was arrested?”
Chloe winced, and oh, this was going to go over like a brick.
“No. The police executed a search warrant, first, to try to find enough evidence to lock the case up, but last night, there was a fire at the lab where the police department tests and stores forensic evidence. That’s why Tyler is here with me. He’s a rescue squad firefighter.”
“Wait, I thought you said he was a friend.” Esme shot Tyler a look of distrust, but he kept his expression relaxed.
“I am. I’ve known Chloe since high school. But I’m also a firefighter. I was one of the first people to respond to the fire at the forensic lab last night.”
No brownie points for that. Esme’s arms remained crossed over the front of her T-shirt. “And this has what to do with me, exactly?”
This time, Chloe didn’t pause. “The fire did a lot of damage. The investigation is ongoing, so we don’t know the extent of it all yet, but there’s a chance the kit containing Leo Navarro’s DNA was destroyed.”
“So, what does that mean? Is he…wait, he’s not going free, is he?” Esme’s chin snapped up in realization as reality clicked into place. “He totally killed that guy. I saw him. He did it!”
“I know, Esme,” Chloe said, clearly meaning it. “And the Intelligence Unit is going to do every single thing they can to make sure he’s charged for it.”
“No way.” Esme shook her head, her mouth pressing into a hard line. “You don’t believe that will happen. Otherwise, why would you bring some firefighter guy with you and pull me out of class to tell me what’s going on instead of just texting me like a normal person?”
Chloe didn’t blink. “Because I’m your advocate. Part of my job is to tell you exactly what’s going on. Just because there was a fire doesn’t mean we stop working on the case.”
“But,” Esme supplied, and here, Chloe gave up a microscopic wince before ripping off the Band-Aid.
“But, if the DNA was destroyed, then there’s no evidence to prove he was at that crime scene other than your testimony, and it might not be enough.”
Tyler saw the second it landed. “No. Uh-uh. No,” Esme bit out, her shoulders ratcheting up around her neck. “I saw him murder someone, and you’re telling me that even if I testify, he could just walk free? He’d kill me!”
“He won’t—”
“You don’t know that,” Esme barreled on. “You didn’t even tell me there was any DNA evidence. You’ve known for days! And now, it could be wrecked and this guy could be out there forever.”
“You’re absolutely right.” Chloe stood and took a half-step toward her. “I didn’t tell you about the DNA evidence when it came in, and I should have. None of us ever thought anything would happen to the evidence.”
“But it did!” Esme cried. “You said you were on my side. You said you were here for me, and you didn’t even tell me what was happening, and now, this guy is going to get away with what he did.”
“Look, I know you’re scared—”
“No.” Esme shot Chloe a look loaded with an army of emotions, her eyes glittering.
“You don’t. You’re saying the evidence might have been destroyed and I might still have to testify, and it might not be enough, but you don’t know anything other than what you told me isn’t true anymore. God, I never should have trusted you!”
Chloe flinched, and some dark, immovable feeling pushed words past Tyler’s lips before his brain had even given him a head’s up that he’d speak. “Do you want the facts?”
Well, at least that got everyone’s attention. “What?” Esme asked.
“You said we don’t know anything”—he spared a lightning-fast glance at Chloe, who didn’t look thrilled but also didn’t tell him to shut his trap, so he kept going—“but that’s not true.
There are things we know for sure, and even though you might be too pissed off to realize it right now, Chloe is on your side. We both are.”
“Yeah, okay. Whatever.” Esme rolled her eyes. Tyler might not know much (okay. Next to nothing) about teenagers, but he did know that the word “whatever” roughly translated to “screw you”.
Which was exactly what had his next words free-flowing out. “You know, I’d get it if you don’t believe I’m on your side. That’s fair. You don’t even know me, and I don’t know you. But Chloe fought to come here and tell you what’s happening so you’re not in the dark.”
“So, what, I’m just supposed to take your word for it?” Esme asked, her challenge unmistakable. “Why should I trust either one of you?”
Tyler went with the only thing he could: the truth.
“Because we’re here. We could’ve waited to tell you about the fire, or not told you at all, if the evidence turns out to still be viable.
But Chloe wanted you to know what was going on even though she knew you’d be upset, because she’s acting in your best interest, and she’s right.
Telling you is only fair. Look, you don’t have to trust me.
I can even leave, if you want me to. But Chloe isn’t lying to you.
She’s got your back. At least give her the chance to prove it. ”
One heartbeat. Then another. One more, and finally, Esme said, “Ugh, fine. I’m listening. But I want the truth—all of it—so don’t leave anything out.”
Chloe didn’t. Starting from the beginning, she recapped everything they knew so far. Tyler filled in some of the details about the fire itself and how the investigation would proceed, and by the time all the details were out, Esme’s death grip on her rib cage had loosened, if only by a fraction.
“So, let me get this straight. Some giant fire maybe burned up the DNA kit that has Leo Navarro’s blood in it.
If the stuff in the DNA kit is okay—viable, right?
” Esme asked, waiting for Chloe to nod before continuing, “then everything stays like it is now, and the A.D.A. gets to use it to arrest him like she was supposed to. But if it’s not, then there’s no proof that Navarro did what he did unless I testify, which might not be enough, and it’s going to take, like, three weeks to find out if the evidence is trashed. ”
“Yep,” Chloe said. “That sums it up pretty well.”
Turning to Tyler, Esme asked, “You’re the rescue squad expert guy, right? Why does it take so long to find out? If something is wrecked in a fire, can’t you just…I don’t know, tell by looking at it?”
“Sometimes, yes,” he said, and it was a valid question. “But for things like DNA, the process is more involved. The kit had to be removed from the scene by an expert who knew how to handle it properly, and under the supervision of the police.”
Tyler gave her a quick rundown of chain of custody laws.
Although it didn’t happen often, he’d responded to a handful of incidents that had required police investigations in his time on squad.
He got how easily evidence could be contaminated, or, worse yet, tampered with.
“The RPD needs to find a new, safe place to store the kit, then do a bunch of different tests to see if the evidence is still viable. That takes a lot of time.”
“You saw the kit, right?” Esme asked, her brows furrowed. “Does it look ruined?”
Shit. He wasn’t going to lie to her, but he needed to proceed with caution. “That’s kind of a tough question. Sometimes things that looked ruined actually aren’t.”
Esme huffed out a breath. “I get that it’s a tough question, but you’re not answering it.”
“Fair enough.” Tyler held up his hands. “I don’t know if I saw the specific kit with the DNA for this case in it, but I did see the room where the kits were stored, and yes, there was significant damage to a lot of them.
Chemical fires spread really fast, and they burn differently than regular fires.
” Hotter was a more accurate word, but not one that was strictly necessary to say, especially if the goal was not to freak her out.
“The good news is that it only takes a small amount of forensic evidence to make a DNA match, and blood can survive some pretty high temperatures, depending. You’d be surprised. ”
“That’s gross,” Esme said, then added, “how high?”
“It depends on a couple of factors, but generally speaking, blood can hold up until things get to about a thousand degrees Celsius. Even then, it’s still possible to get a complete DNA pattern if the circumstances are just right. Just not as likely.”
“So, there’s really a chance the DNA is okay, and Navarro will go to jail?”
Tyler had promised her honesty, so he said, “Yes, there’s a chance the DNA is viable. But that also means there’s a chance that it’s not, and we just won’t know which we’re dealing with until the analysis is complete.”
Chloe looked at Esme with determination.
“I know there are a lot of question marks right now, and I really hate them, too. But like Tyler said, there are a few things I can tell you for sure. One is that both the fire and police departments are taking this seriously, and the very best units are running the investigation. Intelligence, the D.A.’s office, the RFD—it’s not a small team of people, and they’re all experts. ”
Esme’s eyes darted to Tyler. She didn’t seem entirely convinced, but she also didn’t argue, so he’d take it. “What else?”
“Leo Navarro still doesn’t know what you saw or who you are. Nothing about your level of safety has changed, and if it does, I will do everything in my power to make sure you’re protected. I really, really am on your side, Esme.”
Chloe said the words with so much intensity that Tyler actually felt them. Esme must have, too, because she gave a small nod. “Okay. So, what am I supposed to do now?”
“Well, now comes the hardest part,” Chloe said. “We just have to be patient and wait.”